The start of the academic year is the perfect opportunity for Olomouc to live up to its reputation as a university town. Therefore, UP has planned the traditional MEET UP 22 event for both its new and existing students. The celebration of the new academic year will start on Tuesday 20 September in the entrancing city wall ramparts garden and courtyard of the Convictorium – the UP Arts Centre.
The open-air stage will feature two stars of this year’s Colours of Ostrava festival, Annet X and The Middle of the Sandwich; the final dance party will be hosted by the masked Zooblasters. The programme includes film screenings and a talk show with one of the most important street artists of today, Chemis. Presentations by local student clubs are also an integral part of the event. Admission is free.
“What students bring to Olomouc is energy, joy, diversity. When they return to school, the town always comes back to life, so it’s a great opportunity for us to celebrate this moment together. We want to welcome them all here and show the newcomers that this really is the best place for their studies. They will be able to familiarise themselves with the activities of our student clubs and will experience the atmosphere of a student town in the beautiful environment of the Baroque Convictorium. This will help them start the winter semester on the right foot,” said Vít Procházka, Vice-Rector for Communication and Student Affairs.
MEET UP 22 starts on Tuesday at 3 pm, with university organisations and student clubs presenting themselves in the ground floor corridor of the Convictorium – the UP Arts Centre. Interactive presentations include a UP Press stand offering visitors the possibility to bind their own notebooks; Sustainable University will hold a swap of clothes, shoes, accessories, and books, while the Confucius Institute will offer passers-by a cup of real Chinese tea. The associations Sustainable Palacký, Ollove, Rozběháme UP (Running UP) and the student representatives of the Arter Film Club will also present their activities and try to attract newcomers.
The music programme at the city wall ramparts garden will start at 4 pm with the Olomouc band The Middle of the Sandwich, a great discovery of this year’s festival Colours of Ostrava. They were featured at this renowned multi-genre music festival thanks to organisers of three other prominent Czech festivals, but above all, were selected for the honour by over six thousand fan votes. Visitors can enter the world of jazz with the HB Band, playing on the occasion of the grand opening of the UP American Center.
An irresistible blend of styles such as Klezmer, synth-Balkan, electro swing, techno, EDM, and drum’n’bass – these are the Zooblasters, from Prague. Their stage presence is spectacular, as they perform in costume and wear animal masks. The audience will also be electrified by the sublime vocals and explosive, contagious energy of Annet X – at this year’s Colours of Ostrava she enchanted the packed Full Moon Stage. In Olomouc, she will be accompanied by Radimo – saxophonist, flute player, and leader of the acclaimed Czech band Champion Sound. The Prague band Manu Destra will send-off with a dance party to conclude the MEET UP 22 musical programme.
As part of the accompanying programme, a selection of the most interesting screenings from Academia Film Olomouc will be shown. In addition to a German film with the eloquent title Baboons – A Really Wild Family, the ninety-minute block also includes an impressive Finnish documentary, The Problem of the Hydra, which deals with the question of how one miniature animal can shatter our ideas about how the world works, and the French film VO (Vehicle Operator) about the introduction of Uber’s autonomous cars. Concurrently, there will be a talk with Chemis, one of the most important street artists of today. Another talk show will focus on nonfungible tokens (NFTs), a phenomenon associated with cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and artworks traded for astronomical amounts. In collaboration with the Street Art Festival, a special limited collection of NFT art will be made available to the public during MEET UP 22.
This year’s MEET UP 22 will also include a small ceremony. Before the HB Band concert, UP Rector Martin Procházka will present the 2022 Volunteer Awards.
A gastro zone for foodies will be located in the Convictorium courtyard. America on Wheels, a fun zone accompanying the opening of the UP American Center, will offer Xbox gaming, virtual reality, and 3D printing.
All events in the MEET UP 22 programme are free of charge.
MEET UP 22 is organised by Palacký University Olomouc in cooperation with the UP American Center and the Street Art Festival NGO. For more information, please see meetup.upol.cz.